Giselle McDonald, 74 And Homeless, Can't Receive Chemo Because She Lives In Her Car (How You Can Help)

03/16/2012 08:58 am ET
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Updated
Mar 16, 2012

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Giselle McDonald weighs 92 pounds. Her stomach cancer and lymphoma make it hard for her to keep her food down. And while she'd like to start chemotherapy, the San Jose, Calif., resident has been denied because of her address, Mercurynews.com reports.

That's because McDonald, 74, lives in her beat-up Ford Escort and is on a waiting list to get into housing.

"My whole life has been nothing but stress, and I'm tired,'' she told the Mercury News. "I want to have some peace and calm."

Getting to the top of the housing waiting list could take more time than she has, according to the Mercury News.

That's the situation across the country, where homeless shelters and advocates are facing tough decisions about who they can help, and when.

In Florida, legislation recently included $3 million for homeless coalitions across the state -- a last minute decision that comes as only slightly relieving, as the money is specific to paying staffers, not helping homeless the Orlando Sentinel reports.

"I can't understand why homeless families should come last," Debra Susie, executive director of Florida Impact, a nonprofit which works to reduce hunger and poverty throughout the state, told the news source.

"The most notable difference between older and younger homeless adults is the older adults’ compromised health status; one study found that they were 3.6 times as likely to have a chronic medical condition as homeless adults under 50. Another study found that 85% of homeless persons over age 50 reported at least one chronic medical condition. Homeless adults between ages 50 and 62 often have healthcare needs similar to those of people who are 10 to 20 years older."